Article excerpt

British Prime Minister Tony Blair speaks to a joint session of
Congress Thursday as he receives the Congressional Gold Medal - a
double honor last bestowed on Winston Churchill. But he does so at a
moment when the "special relationship" between the US and Britain is
under particular strain.

The primary reason is the continuing controversy over
intelligence cited by Mr. Blair and President Bush to justify the
Iraq war. The US has tapped Britain as the source of now-
discredited information, while British officials say the US held
back key information on the intelligence in the run-up to war.

Beyond that, an unstable and deadly postwar Iraq is replacing
what was supposed to be a victory glow with an uncomfortable
spotlight on cracks in the tight US-British friendship. Bush can
hardly relish the focus Blair's visit places on the intelligence
controversy. Blair, meanwhile - already under attack at home - will
be looking for help from his friend George while seeking to show
constituents there is daylight between the two countries.

"Blair really is coming at the worst possible moment for both
leaders," says Ivo Daalder, an expert in US-Europe relations at
Washington's Brookings Institution. "[His] medal is lost in the
maelstrom of controversy about the reasons for going to war and the
aftermath."

The visit may give US and British audiences a stronger hint of
what separates the two countries, as well as what unites them, than
at any time in the recent past.

The US 'foreign minister'?

The two have marched side by side in Afghanistan and Iraq, speak
as one on North Korea, and sing from the same hymn sheet where
trouble spots like Zimbabwe and Colombia are concerned - leading
some of Blair's detractors to complain that Britain and America are
now indistinguishable on matters of foreign policy.

They have dubbed Blair "US foreign minister" and Bush's "poodle,"
while some international critics say London has lost its independent
voice and is merely doing Washington's bidding.

But Britain and America have numerous issues on which they
scarcely see eye to eye - and the list appears to be growing.

At the top currently is America's plan to try suspected
terrorists, including some Britons, at Guantanamo. Differences on
Iran and the Middle East also lurk just below the surface, as do
disagreements on trade, global warming, genetically modified crops,
the International Criminal Court, and arms control.

But where other powers might choose to fall out or lock horns
over such matters, Britain is trying to influence its powerful
friend by standing by it. The approach has brought Blair important
trophies, some experts say.

"The 'poodle' comment we hear so often is belied by the reality
of how diplomacy works, and in particular by what Blair has to show
for his regularly whispering in the ear of a partner he doesn't
always agree with," says John Hulsman, a European specialist at the
Heritage Foundation in Washington.

Among Blair's "tangible results," he includes the fact that the
US went through the UN at all before going to war in Iraq; the
administration's "helpful" engagement on Northern Ireland; and
getting Bush to push the road map for Middle East peace.

"The fact is, Blair is among the president's top three to four
advisers on foreign affairs," Mr. …